HOME heroes Gordon Shedden and Rory Butcher will head back to Knockhill last month in confident mood after claiming podium places in superb style in the last round of action.

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) competitors, who are also brothers-in-law, took first and third spots to close out the action in the fifth race weekend of the 2022 season at Croft.

Three-time champion Shedden, 43, ended a topsy-turvy weekend on the top step with a dominant, lights-to-flag triumph, while Butcher, 35, added to a pair of seventh-place finishes with a third visit to the rostrum this year.

Halfords Racing with Cataclean star Shedden set the pace in the final free practice session, and followed it up with a top-five lap in qualifying, but saw a broken suspension end his opening race.

A fightback drive to 12th in the second bout was then followed by his triumph in the final race, results which leave him seventh in the drivers' standings, and 63 points adrift of leader Tom Ingram.

"There were some mega moves; the car has felt really good all weekend," Shedden said.

"That's why I was so disappointed after race one, because it felt like we were just giving it all away. Some points in race two, and to finish on top of the box, then obviously next time out being Knockhill, you couldn't script it any better.

"If you think the action here was good, I think the action at Knockhill will be absolutely incredible at the end of July. This has been a really good end to the weekend and we get a little bit of a summer break now.

"We have work to do but are in a good place right now and the car feels good so hopefully we can come out fighting in the second half."

Butcher is one place and five points ahead of Shedden after a strong weekend.

Although he had to settle for 11th in qualifying, the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK driver made up four places in race one, before replicating that result in the second, with his crowning moment of the weekend arriving in the third.

"Croft is a circuit of two halves that require different attributes from the car," Butcher said.

"You really have to focus on traction in the slow-speed sections but, through the high-speed middle sector of the lap, you need a car that is stable and rotates well to enable you to attack. Right from the outset, the Corolla felt very strong, but having shown so much potential in free practice, we were really deflated after qualifying.

"We kept on pushing right to the end and overall, I was really pleased with the consistency we showed again with another three solid finishes. To score such good points and spray some champagne after a tough qualifying was a fantastic effort by the whole team, and means we end the first half of the season on a high."

The championship now takes a five-week break before returning to Knockhill over the weekend of July 30-31.